Sample of Verity
by Xangelic-demonicX
Summary: After Lelouch's death, Kallen find herself unable to live on unless she gets the answers she wants. One day, she stumbles upon C.C., and finally gets her chance to ask about him. Will Kallen get the truths she wants? Oneshot. Please R&R.


She was completely out of breath by the time I turned around again. I looked at her with the slightest bit of pity, then continued on walking away.

"Stop!" she called, breathlessly.

I stopped.

"Why are you running away from me?" she asked.

I turned slowly to face her.

"When are you going to stop following me, Kallen?" I asked.

She stood up straight and stared right into my eyes. Her fierce gaze pierced my soul, well, what's left of it anyways.

"You know what I want," she said.

I sighed. Impatience is a rather flawed part of human nature. You'd think after so long, humans would develop a cure for it like they have for everything else.

"And you know what I'm going to say," I responded.

Kallen walked slowly towards me and grabbed my hand forcefully.

"Tell me why!" she demanded hopelessly.

A tear fell from her eyes.

I knew very well what she was talking about. I had all the answers she seeked, but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to recount those events again.

"Please tell me! If I don't get the answers I want, I won't be able to live on," she pleaded desperately.

Anything...? Well, no... I shouldn't do that. I remained silent. Strangely enough, she had the courage to bring it up before I did.

"Don't you want to die, C.C.? Give me the burden of Geass. Tell me what I want to know and I'll help you realize your wish..." she said in pain.

Hmph. Typical human. So eager to throw away their lives as always. Though I couldn't disagree to that. I assumed that someone, probably Jeremiah, had passed her the information about my immortality and ability to give someone the Power of Kings, since I'm sure that he never told her.

"Alright," I said sarcastically.

Her face immediately changed from an expression of exhaustion to that of relief. It was depressing how there wasn't the slightest sign of regret or hesitation on her face. I would've liked to see that...fearless pilot of the Guren with a scared visage. I sighed, the world was just so cruel sometimes.

I led her around the corner into the Shinjuku ghetto. After his death, it was ordered by the Empress Nunnally that the ghetto would be torn down and rebuilt for the Japanese. Luckily, the construction workers were off today, so it was just me, her and our memories.

We walked in a comfortable silence and after a while, I think she realized where we were going. Ironically, she ended up leading the way.

Visions flashed by me.

_"What was it you wanted me to do with this bizarre power?"_

...

_"Only those who are prepared to be fired at, should fire."_

Funny how I heard all these things when I was supposed to be unconscious. I never really treasured the moments I heard his voice until now.

I came to a stop when I found a comfortable rock to sit on. Kallen quickly realized that there wasn't a pair of footsteps following her anymore and turned around to face me.

Naturally, I sighed.

"The ghetto's being rebuilt. Isn't it beautiful?" I asked casually, looking towards the sun.

"Of course," she answered sincerely, while keeping her eyes locked on me the whole time.

Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to avoid this question and answer session, I spoke first.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

There was a long silence. Birds chirped in the distance.

"Tell me, where did you first meet Lelouch?" she asked.

I took a long breath, then started speaking.

"We first met right here, in Shinjuku ghetto. He got accidentally caught up in your truck carrying the poison gas, and was about to be shot to death by Britannian soldiers before I intervened and gave him his Geass. By the way, your poison gas never existed in the first place. It was the capsule Clovis put me in when he first found me," I laughed, remembering the moment.

"Really?" she asked, bewildered. "Did you know who Lelouch was beforehand?"

"Of course, I knew about him as a person long beforehand, and how the late Emperor, Charles and Marianne had sent them to Japan as political hostages. I didn't plan on meeting him there obviously, but my connection with Marianne allowed me to sense him as well," I said.

"Why did he become Zero?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not sure about the specifics, but based on my understanding of his history and personality, I would say that he'd wanted to completely destroy Britannia for the most part of his life. He'd always been displeased with Britannia's hierarchy system. However, he didn't have enough power to overthrow Britannia before. Once I gave him the Power of Kings, and once he claimed victory over Clovis in Shinjuku ghetto, he probably thought that he could actually destroy Britannia's corrupted system and completely recreate it. Obviously, since he was a Prince, he had to work under an alias, Zero," I explained.

Kallen nodded as if she'd already guessed most of that.

"Tell me then, why did he not work with his sister in the SAZ? And why did he say to kill Japanese?" Kallen demanded.

"That was probably the most regrettable part for him of his whole endeavour. Simply put, it was an accident," I stated bluntly.

A shocked expression appeared on her face, but I could tell that she wanted to believe it. Kallen remained silent, implying for me to continue explaining.

"At that time, his Geass had coincidentally become unstoppable and I don't think he realized it. Apparently, as he was telling Euphemia about Geass, he accidentally turned to look at her and joked about her killing all the Japanese. He'd already decided to work with Euphemia beforehand, but then he accidentally... Well, I should mention this first. His Geass is irreversible. Once, he gives you a command, accidentally or not, you'll do it to the best of your ability until you die, which left him no choice but to utilise Euphemia's blood bath to the fullest," I said without emotion.

I could tell at this point that Kallen was starting to blame me for his death, but she must've realized that it was pointless by now. I am immortal, but that doesn't mean I can bring back the dead.

"So what was all that about being Emperor about?" she asked.

"Charles and Marianne had a plan to destroy the world and join the consciences of all the people into one. Lelouch and Suzaku denied their plan, and chose reality over the illusion of peace. After that, they made a pact with each other to prepare the world to embrace the future. They thwarted Schneizer's plan to suspend the world in its present form and completely recreated Britannia. By directing all of the world's hate onto him and arranging his own death to kill the world's symbol of hatred, the world was finally able to acheive peace," I said, gazing at the sky.

"Why?" Kallen asked desperately.

The first question that I found hard to answer. Maybe because I didn't want to say the truth. Maybe because I didn't know the answer. Maybe because I didn't want to think about it. Maybe all three.

"I don't know," was my simple answer.

Kallen sobbed hopelessly. I sat there and watched her, and I too, could almost feel a tear trickle down my cheek thinking about it. I waited patiently until she regained her composture.

Another question came.

"Then, who is the masked Zero?" she asked quietly.

I chuckled.

"You already know the answer to that question, don't you?" I asked her teasingly.

Even if she didn't, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Hopefully, she would stop pestering me with painful questions and start bothering his sister and his best friend.

We both ended up daydreaming and staring off into space. We sat there quietly, pondering away the rest of the day. The sun was setting by the time she spoke again.

"Do you know if..." she stuttered.

I remained silent without look at her. I think she got the hint that I wasn't going to answer any more questions for her. There were other, more reliable people she could ask now.

"I..." she started. "Our deal..."

I found it rather funny how she acted like she was bracing herself for pain. I would've called her an "idiot" and given her a lecture on how Geass would be more of a burden to her than anything else, but I didn't bother. I didn't need to. I'd already made up my mind.

"C.C.?" Kallen asked.

I smiled for the first time since he died.

"Well then, I'll see you around," I said, getting up.

Kallen stood there, frozen in her place while I just got up and walked away. I heard no footsteps pursuing me and was glad that Kallen knew better than to press any further. I didn't really want to make an epic scene of it, so I was rather glad when she said nothing. Come to think of it, I never really asked her if she actually wanted the Power of Kings or if she was just bribing me for the information. It didn't really matter at this point in time.

"Thank you, Kallen," I whispered back.

But she probably didn't hear.

This conversation with her has led me to realize two very simple things. Firstly, I would make sure to never make the same mistake again with anyone else, just as he had wished. Ah, Lelouch...he was always the type to shoulder all his problems from a distance by himself. I don't think I ever truly understood his sufferings, but now...

I shook my head. It hurt to think about it any further.

Secondly...well, the idea was something that crossed by mind constantly before meeting him, but I think that'll change after this. I've always thought my immortality to be a curse since the day the nun tricked me into stealing her code, but now, I've found something that only me as C.C. could do. I think I'll just live on, and spread the true story of Emperor Lelouch vi Brittania to everyone...for his sake. I'm sure he'd rather if I didn't, but I couldn't care less. He probably would've liked it better if I went in pursuit of my own happiness, otherwise known as the fruits of death, but he's not my fearless commander anymore. And I'm the one calling the shots here. It's my decision, and I'm ready to face the consequences. Too bad for you, eh...Lelouch?


End file.
